Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
This 76 minute chat was recorded in the van on Ted Kennedy from Cool, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry on the 20th of August 2026. It is packed with local stories, connections, histories and place. Story after story - truthfully and carefully told by Ted to Michael in his van on a fine day in August. The information covers his own life, his job, his family and his neighbours. Great accounts covered include the trans Atlantic cable, rural communication, the arrival of electricity and telephone on the island, the first television and loads of stories about his life as a lighthouse keeper. Also great accounts of The Skellig List - which is part of the folklore of this part of Ireland.
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List of Contents
00:00 – Meet Ted: A Lifelong Islander
01:28 – Cutting Turf and Life on Valentia
03:12 – School Days and the Lighthouse Service
04:27 – A Lighthouse Rescue in 1974
06:21 – 30 Years with Irish Lights
07:44 – How Irish Lighthouses Were Funded
10:13 – Ted’s Family and His Childhood
12:30 – Family in America and the Irish Language
14:10 – Ted’s Mother, Neighbours and Island Life
16:26 – Life Before Electricity
17:42 – Electricity and Telephones Come to Valentia
19:48 – The Early Local Link Bus
22:29 – Ted’s Homemade “Mobile Phone” System
23:55 – Early Mobile Phones and Television
25:15 – Lighthouse Radio and Irish Jones
26:37 – Christmas Nights in the Lighthouses
28:02 – Lighthouse Radio, VHF and Fax
31:41 – Ted’s Piece of the Original Telegraph Cable
33:04 – The Cable That Connected Europe and America
34:16 – Ted’s Interest in Technology
35:48 – The First Television on Valentia
37:56 – The First Radio and Family Gatherings
40:45 – A Drive Around Valentia
41:33 – Family, Holy Water and Island Traditions
42:47 – St Brendan and Local Tradition
44:31 – Changing Valentia and the Skelligs
45:28 – Life as a Lighthouse Keeper
47:13 – The Lighthouse Keeper’s Job
48:14 – Keeping Time and Operating the Lighthouse
49:56 – Christmas on the Rock Lighthouses
50:44 – The Skellig List: Valentia’s Matchmaking Tradition
52:18 – White Strand Bay and the Transatlantic Cable
53:20 – The Cable, Waterville, Germany and Wartime
54:34 – Ted’s Mother and the Cable Station
55:12 – Turkeys, Christmas and Life Without Electricity
56:04 – The Telegraph Field: “The Birth of Globalisation”
57:18 – Heading to “Paris”
58:21 – Why This Part of Valentia Was Called Paris
59:01 – The First Aeroplane Across the Atlantic
59:34 – The Houses of Paris
1:00:54 – Shipwrecks and the Air India Disaster
1:01:35 – The Cillín: Children’s Burial Grounds
1:02:15 – Unbaptized Babies, Miscarriage and Religion
1:03:25 – The Influence of the Catholic Church
1:03:58 – “Churched” After Childbirth
1:04:18 – Family Connections and Local Surnames
1:05:26 – Faction Fighting, Football and Rowing
1:06:16 – The Cillín and Its History
1:07:12 – Midwives and Doctors on Valentia
1:09:33 – Caring for the Dead and Ted’s Childhood Memories
1:11:15 – Childhood Mischief and Life on the Island
1:14:01 – Ted’s Honesty and Stories from the Mini Bus
1:15:17 – Thanks to Ted
........................................................................
This recording was created as part of a wider Oral History and Research Project conducted by Michael for a project entitled 'Stories around the Cable'. The project was undertaken by Michael with the support of Creative Ireland, the National Monuments Service and Kerry County Council.
The series of video interviews aims to highlight various local stories and preserve the voices and histories of the people who are connected to the island and its past. Thanks to everyone involved in helping share these histories and stories.
This 76 minute chat was recorded in the van on Ted Kennedy from Cool, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry on the 20th of August 2026. It is packed with local stories, connections, histories and place. Story after story - truthfully and carefully told by Ted to Michael in his van on a fine day in August. The information covers his own life, his job, his family and his neighbours. Great accounts covered include the trans Atlantic cable, rural communication, the arrival of electricity and telephone on the island, the first television and loads of stories about his life as a lighthouse keeper. Also great accounts of The Skellig List - which is part of the folklore of this part of Ireland.
....................................
List of Contents
00:00 – Meet Ted: A Lifelong Islander
01:28 – Cutting Turf and Life on Valentia
03:12 – School Days and the Lighthouse Service
04:27 – A Lighthouse Rescue in 1974
06:21 – 30 Years with Irish Lights
07:44 – How Irish Lighthouses Were Funded
10:13 – Ted’s Family and His Childhood
12:30 – Family in America and the Irish Language
14:10 – Ted’s Mother, Neighbours and Island Life
16:26 – Life Before Electricity
17:42 – Electricity and Telephones Come to Valentia
19:48 – The Early Local Link Bus
22:29 – Ted’s Homemade “Mobile Phone” System
23:55 – Early Mobile Phones and Television
25:15 – Lighthouse Radio and Irish Jones
26:37 – Christmas Nights in the Lighthouses
28:02 – Lighthouse Radio, VHF and Fax
31:41 – Ted’s Piece of the Original Telegraph Cable
33:04 – The Cable That Connected Europe and America
34:16 – Ted’s Interest in Technology
35:48 – The First Television on Valentia
37:56 – The First Radio and Family Gatherings
40:45 – A Drive Around Valentia
41:33 – Family, Holy Water and Island Traditions
42:47 – St Brendan and Local Tradition
44:31 – Changing Valentia and the Skelligs
45:28 – Life as a Lighthouse Keeper
47:13 – The Lighthouse Keeper’s Job
48:14 – Keeping Time and Operating the Lighthouse
49:56 – Christmas on the Rock Lighthouses
50:44 – The Skellig List: Valentia’s Matchmaking Tradition
52:18 – White Strand Bay and the Transatlantic Cable
53:20 – The Cable, Waterville, Germany and Wartime
54:34 – Ted’s Mother and the Cable Station
55:12 – Turkeys, Christmas and Life Without Electricity
56:04 – The Telegraph Field: “The Birth of Globalisation”
57:18 – Heading to “Paris”
58:21 – Why This Part of Valentia Was Called Paris
59:01 – The First Aeroplane Across the Atlantic
59:34 – The Houses of Paris
1:00:54 – Shipwrecks and the Air India Disaster
1:01:35 – The Cillín: Children’s Burial Grounds
1:02:15 – Unbaptized Babies, Miscarriage and Religion
1:03:25 – The Influence of the Catholic Church
1:03:58 – “Churched” After Childbirth
1:04:18 – Family Connections and Local Surnames
1:05:26 – Faction Fighting, Football and Rowing
1:06:16 – The Cillín and Its History
1:07:12 – Midwives and Doctors on Valentia
1:09:33 – Caring for the Dead and Ted’s Childhood Memories
1:11:15 – Childhood Mischief and Life on the Island
1:14:01 – Ted’s Honesty and Stories from the Mini Bus
1:15:17 – Thanks to Ted
........................................................................
This recording was created as part of a wider Oral History and Research Project conducted by Michael for a project entitled 'Stories around the Cable'. The project was undertaken by Michael with the support of Creative Ireland, the National Monuments Service and Kerry County Council.
The series of video interviews aims to highlight various local stories and preserve the voices and histories of the people who are connected to the island and its past. Thanks to everyone involved in helping share these histories and stories.
